Access: How many agencies does it take to change a light bulb?
160 Responses
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Angela Hart, in reply to
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But I really do want a Tesla battery, becouse I just want one.
I understand the attraction, I'll put one in with the cake :-)
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Angela Hart, in reply to
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Our GP friend struggled with an antiquated computer, till we encouraged her to buy a brand new plug and play Macintosh.
Our GP was perfectly comfortable with his Mac based practice, but was obliged to change to the Dark Side in order to have compatibility with DHB systems, apparently.
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It's a problem when anything gets so complicated that people have to specialise. Your average electrician would have few professional opportunities to think about their service from the point of view of a person needing 24/7 medical equipment. Your average disability support worker would have few professional opportunities to muck around with a car battery and an inverter. They might know what people do in hospitals, but not in server rooms. And your bureaucrat might be good at getting all the stakeholders in a room, nutting out a solution and socialising it so that one person's innovation can spread, but they may not have any visibility of the problem at all, plus no direct experience with medical equipment or car batteries. This kind of group discussion is rare in meatspace.
The solution? Meetings :-) Or at least, making sure that in our complicated lives there are plenty of opportunities for people with different skill sets and priorities to shoot the breeze and look at something through a different pair of eyes.
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Rosemary McDonald, in reply to
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Kinda like we're doing here?
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Sacha, in reply to
your bureaucrat might be good at getting all the stakeholders in a room, nutting out a solution and socialising it
That skillset (and organisational permission to use it) is lacking. Part of the problem is that the Public Finance Act etc makes it too hard for agencies to share responsibility for anything. Govts have been told this for over a decade. Whanau Ora is an example of solving it.
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steven crawford, in reply to
I understand the attraction, I’ll put one in with the cake :-)
I appreciate that, but I have a light bulb changing career to think about.
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Angela Hart, in reply to
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I’m amazed that in-home medical equipment actually comes without a battery backup – even if only half an hour’s duration. I’m even more amazed that the health authority has no guidelines or provision for recommending/providing additional backup equipment for precisely this scenario.
It is odd. We regularly point out to various medical professionals that the feed pump we use has a battery built in but the respiratory equipment has no back-up. They think it's odd too. But nothing changes.
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Robert Urquhart, in reply to
The craziest thing about solar at the moment is that if mains power goes off and you’re grid connected, you loose your solar as well. Because of risk to linesmen if there is unexpectedly power on the line when they try to fix it. You’d think the system could be rigged to automatically disconnect from the grid and be reconnected, possibly manually, when power is restored.
[Grumps] That's the only disappointment with my recently installed solar. (Excluding the circus of actually getting it installed, certified and an appropriate meter.) I can understand why, but I'd be perfectly happy to have to throw three big-ass switches in three different locations around the house to make sure everything was isolated before drawing directly from the panels, even if it was to a single power point. It undermines half the reason for getting it in the first place [/grumps]
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
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dammed if do...
There’s rather a lot of sunk cost in dams, windfarms and geothermal. Are you suggesting we demolish them all in favour of home solar panels and wind turbines?
That's pretty heavy duty reading between the lines, there!
Not sure where I suggested or even implied any of the above...All I'm suggesting is that we are putting all our eggs in the one basket.
Be it with home generation, community or corporate.
While it is all working fine, all is working fine, and I'll use it along with everyone else, but...
...much of what we take for granted depends on supply chains beyond our control with their own vulnerabilities.
That which we consider archived, is merely electronically latent in someone else's shed, somewhere on the planet. (Remember Mega Upload).
No machine, product, software, lasts forever
no company lasts forever either...as you point out the frontier silicon chip crofters cottage industries ain't gonna thrive...
I'd just like to think there was a Plan B,
and C, D,... -
Angela Hart, in reply to
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I’d just like to think there was a Plan B,
and C, D,…I'd be quite happy if I thought there was even a plan A in this context
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steven crawford, in reply to
[Grumps] That’s the only disappointment with my recently installed solar. (Excluding the circus of actually getting it installed, certified and an appropriate meter.) I can understand why, but I’d be perfectly happy to have to throw three big-ass switches in three different locations around the house to make sure everything was isolated before drawing directly from the panels, even if it was to a single power point. It undermines half the reason for getting it in the first place [/grumps]
You need a Tesla battery.
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Tryphena, Great Barrier island, has power lines that never got connected to anything. It’s the lines to no where. Perfect candidate for a small power company to set up with wind, solar and diesel
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Sacha, in reply to
We regularly point out to various medical professionals that the feed pump we use has a battery built in but the respiratory equipment has no back-up. They think it's odd too. But nothing changes.
Not. Their. Problem.
#pffft -
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What did the people of Chch who were in this predicament do apre boom boom crash bang?
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After a bit of Google earthing, It appears the lines and polls have been removed from Tryphena. So, totally no mains power, or lines on Great Barrier island.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
What did the people of Chch who were in this predicament do apre boom boom crash bang?
Good question. Unlike enlightened places like Wellington, Chch doesn't have a free ambulance. Even if you've made your way to the doc via your own transport, if you're deemed to be hospital fodder the rule is you'll travel by meatwagon, with an $85 bill from St John to follow. That's a flat charge, regardless of whether or not they run red lights or sound the siren on your behalf.
Recovering your vehicle can be a minor nuisance. When I got caught that way my GP let me stash my bike in her practice's storeroom.
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Email
Another opportunity to comment if you have the time and fortitude http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/new-zealand-health-strategy-consultation
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Angela Hart, in reply to
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Unlike enlightened places like Wellington, Chch doesn’t have a free ambulance.
So, are ambulance services in Wellington free to people being transported? They're not in Auckland.
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
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Yes as far as Otaki and the Wairarapa. Great tradition of the Free Ambulance Service. They also give free advice and come and attend to accidents in the home all no charge. Wellingtonians fundraise hard to keep the service though.
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The helicopter was free north of Auckland, last time they winched me onboard. The pilot even offered me to crash at his place for the night.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
Yes as far as Otaki and the Wairarapa. Great tradition of the Free Ambulance Service. They also give free advice and come and attend to accidents in the home all no charge. Wellingtonians fundraise hard to keep the service though.
A little bit of background here. A civic dignitary who seems to have left the world a better place.
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Rosemary McDonald, in reply to
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last time they winched me onboard.
Bloomin heck! I'm not religious, but I have more than once been in a boat in a 3m sou wester aiming for the Kawhia Bar. Singing under my breath...
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Angela Hart, in reply to
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The helicopter was free north of Auckland, last time they winched me onboard.
Bloody hell! and you still sail?
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Email
I’ve only once called for an ambulance, for a friend who’d been assaulted and concussed, but they were busy so the police, whom I had called about the attack on my quiet suburban street, took him in to A&E.
We think twice about calling an ambulance because of the cost and because they don’t always take kindly to a wheelchair and a caregiver going along- these things are not negotiable for us.
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steven crawford, in reply to
Bloody hell! and you still sail?
Yes, but I haven't put the mast back up on that particular boat yet. I did however, redo the keel bolts.
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